Topic: freezing behavior

Memories are thought to be encoded in the brain via synaptic strengthening among memory engram cells. Still, it has not been possible to observe if learning potentiates synaptic connections and simultaneously show that these changes are causally related to memory expression (i.e., they occur in engram neurons). We used a novel engram allocation-based approach to observe synaptic changes in engram neurons upon learning in-vivo. Using optogenetics, we assigned selected Medial Entorhinal Cortex (MEC) neurons to a context fear memory. This takes advantage of the fact that neurons with more excitab

An animal’s behavioral state is reflected in the dynamics of population activity and its capacity to process sensory information. Previous studies in mammalian brains have demonstrated a relationship between behavioral states and information processing (Lee et al., 2016, 2019, 2020). However, these studies have been limited to exploring how population dynamics and sensory representation changes in specific cortical areas. Thanks to its transparency at early life stage and the advent of selective plane illumination microscopy, the zebrafish brain is an attractive model that allow for whole brai

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a psychopathological condition triggered by traumatic events, affects the brain's energy demand. The median prefrontal cortex (m-PFC) plays a crucial role in regulating the fear response. Moreover, it contains glucose-sensing glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2)-containing neurons. Therefore, we hypothesized that manipulation of these mPFC-GLUT2 cells could impact the behavioral outcome.An adeno-associated viral vector was used to deliver a stimulatory DREADD sequence into the mPFC of mice from both sexes. The infected cells were stimulated by clozapine-N-oxide r